Motco Sells 293 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Motco decreased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 20,440 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 293 shares during the period. Motco’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $5,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of APD. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,793 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,725,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% during the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $688,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter valued at $227,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 5.7% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 6,910 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,057,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 2,294 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $628,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In related news, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total value of $410,644.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,008,604.84. This trade represents a 28.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total transaction of $1,419,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,911 shares of company stock valued at $4,660,897. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $312.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $69.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.53 and a 52-week high of $341.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company’s 50 day moving average is $309.57 and its 200 day moving average is $305.45.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on APD. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets lowered Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Company Profile

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc provides atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, equipment, and related services in the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, India, and internationally. The company produces atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, and argon; process gases, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and syngas; and specialty gases for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, energy production, medical, food, and metals.